


The Larcenist, the Catalyst, and the Victor

by IAmJacksTitanicBreath



Series: Percy Jackson and The Olympians [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: 1998, AU, Abuse, Abused Percy Jackson, Aged Up Percy Jackson Character(s), Angst, Bisexual Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson), Bisexual Grover Underwood, Bisexual Percy Jackson, Book 1: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson), Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Character Death, Confused Grover Underwood, Confused Percy Jackson, Cynical Annabeth Chase, DID Characters, Dark, Dark Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson), Dark Chiron, Dark Luke Castellan, Dark Past, Dark Percy, Dark Percy Jackson, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Depressing, Drug Addict Percy Jackson, Druggie Percy, Druggie Percy Jackson, Emotional Hurt, Eventual Romance, Everyone's bi, F/M, Gabe Ugliano becomes Gabriel Ugolino, Gabriel Ugolino is a manipulator, Heavy Angst, Homophobia, Hurt Percy Jackson, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'll add more tags, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kinda, Lots of Drugs, Luke Castellan - Freeform, Major Character Death(s), Minor Character Death(s), Minor Druggie Sally Jackson, No Romance, No beta: we die like men, OP Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson Needs a Hug, Percy was born in 1985 for sake of story, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Powerful Percy, Powerful Percy Jackson, Rewrite, Sad, Sad Percy Jackson, Sally Jackson Needs a Hug, Schizophrenic Characters, Sexual Abuse, Shit goes down, Sleep Deprivation, Slow Burn, Tragedy, Whump, because poseidon, errybody confused, everyone is badass in this because we believe in equal badass demigods, excuse me for being a fucking clueless asshole, its 2000 dude, its the 80s man, its the 90s man, just keep adding this shit as if it helps for the total bomb imma pull on y'all at the end of this, life fucks, mature - Freeform, no care for mortal morals, op percy, percy jackson - Freeform, set much earlier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:20:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28207470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmJacksTitanicBreath/pseuds/IAmJacksTitanicBreath
Summary: Percy smelt like candles. He smelt like candles and soap. There was a hint of salt water there too, but not the smelly kind; more like the one that you would find in a fancy private resort in Hawaii. The kind that was used in spa rooms. The scent seemed to cling to him like a second skin. That was what Percy usually smelt like at the beginning of the year and sometimes after coming back from their holiday’s break. Other times, Percy smelt like several types of alcohol and drugs, as well as sweat and blood, but most prominently was beer and cocaine. Then, it was hard to be around him.(a Lightning Thief rewrite)
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood
Series: Percy Jackson and The Olympians [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066295
Comments: 25
Kudos: 81





	1. A Tragic Character

**Author's Note:**

> Mk, so some of the things that are going on in this fic:
> 
> I loved the books and never really found any flaws in any of them besides some minor details. I wanted to make a darker, more interesting rewrite of each of the books. I haven't reread any of it so if there are flaws feel free to tell me in the chat. Most of this is based of my dreams. Some things won't make sense but that's because it's all supposed to be somewhat hallucination-like. I've changed Gabe Ugliano to Gabriel Ugolino just because I wrote him as an especially dark character and I can't take him seriously if he has the name Gabe Ugliano. The reason Grover is so okay with Percy doing the things he does is because Grover isn't part of the mortal world so mortal affairs don't matter to him. Also, I kind of wrote this thinking of Euphoria so if you've watched that, look out for little similarities.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy smelt like candles. He smelt like candles and soap. There was a hint of salt water there too, but not the smelly kind; more like the one that you would find in a fancy private resort in Hawaii. The kind that was used in spa rooms. The scent seemed to cling to him like a second skin. That was what Percy usually smelt like at the beginning of the year and sometimes after coming back from their holiday’s break. Other times, Percy smelt like several types of alcohol and drugs, as well as sweat and blood, but most prominently was beer and cocaine. Then, it was hard to be around him.

**(Grover)**  
Percy smelt like candles. He smelt like candles and soap. There was a hint of salt water there too, but not the smelly kind; more like the one that you would find in a fancy private resort in Hawaii. The kind that was used in spa rooms. The scent seemed to cling to him like a second skin. That was what Percy usually smelt like at the beginning of the year and sometimes after coming back from their holiday’s break. Other times, Percy smelt like several types of alcohol and drugs, as well as sweat and blood, but most prominently was beer and cocaine. Then, it was hard to be around him.

Percy essentially lived at Yancy Academy, which was a private boarding institute, or rather correctional facility for problematic kids who had trouble fitting in with the outside world. They were also kept there to avoid being a danger to others.  
From other countries’ standpoints, America was too sensitive and hypocritical, though Percy would always argue that New York was the one exception. There, nothing was ever really overestimated. Several things if not all things were underestimated, but almost nothing was overrated or over estimated.  
The point being, when Yancy Academy’s description was that it was an institute for troubled kids and troubled kids only, it did not lie. Everyone there had serious mental problems and were more or less a threat to others. When Percy had first joined the academy, he could find no students who had any morals at all. When there were teachers around, some of the juveniles at least put up an act as though they were motivated to become better, while others couldn’t care less. What was Percy’s problem? Percy Jackson was diagnosed with bipolar I, bipolar 2, cyclothymic, BPD, and bipolar disorder as well as ADHD and developmental dyslexia. He was arguably the most dangerous person there hosting a temper that changed like the winds. If you tried to argue, his record would shut you up immediately.

It was ironic that he produced a calming aura, with relaxing scents, and yet anyone who knew him knew to never try to create their own picture of him besides the basic facts because everytime they painted the picture of someone they thought they were beginning to understand he proved them wrong with almost a completely different personality. He was menacing, intimidating, and to most, down-right terrifying.

He’d been at Yancy Academy for four months before Grover came.

Grover would never know the details of what happened before he came very well. All he knew was that his expectations were far from what he came to discover. The academy was made in such a style that any student who could participate in regular classes without being a problem the most would, while others were sorted into customary classes that were specialized to fit their needs. Grover had been in all of Percy’s classes, because that was his goal and also partly coincidence.  
There was Homeroom (mostly there to make sure nobody was dead, dying, lost, or still in their dorms). After that was ELA, gym (for those able to), and lunch which was early because there wasn’t any breakfast and the time was usually used for most students to take their prescription pills at the nurse’s office and get started with their day. The second half of their day was what Grover liked better. There was a counseling class that reminded Grover of the ones they had in juvenile drug rehab centers which Grover hadn’t actually been to but his pseudo mentor Gleeson Hedge had rescued a girl from one and later described it in detail to Grover. Then, finally, was Latin/History which was a duo class of both Latin and History as the teacher who taught was the best at both and made it fun. Students who didn’t take Latin came in later for History. The last class was the worst class because of course the day had to end with a bang. Last was Math. It had only progressively gotten worse since Grover had come though he doubted it had anything to do with him.

Grover’s first day had found Grover timidly walking into Homeroom. There was no introduction and no greetings to him. He just took a random seat as the class progressed. Grover took a good look at all of the students. He was here for only one person who’s aura he had sensed immediately but had not gotten a chance to look at him. The student in question was leaned forward in his chair, elbows digging into his desk and hands propping up his head, his long fingers fisting his untamed and shockingly black hair. In short, he looked like he was enduring the worst hangover of his life.

“Grover Underwood?...” Grover’s attention was snapped away from the boy as the homeroom teacher was calling attendance. He raised his hand and mumbled ‘here’. A few students spared him a glance and then went back to what they were doing. The majority of the class was either doodling, asleep, or just generally bored and unfocused. There were only very few who were participating. However, Grover couldn’t find anyone who was down-right delinquent. They all just looked like bored middle-school kids in detention. It was only the raven-haired boy who looked somewhat sketchy.  
“Percy Jackson?...” The same boy whose name was apparently Percy banged his head against the desk as answer. At this several students perked up in what Grover horrifyingly realized was anticipation. He, however, was feeling apprehension at what was about to happen. This was the boy who he was supposed to be taking with him back to camp so he had to have a good impression of him no matter what. If the same students who seemed so bored and dull in what would be a normal class, who were known to enjoy negative things and find calamities entertaining, took interest in when Percy acted up, then Percy could have been nothing short of a tragic character.  
“Percy, I’ll need a vocal answer to write you down on this attendance sheet, ‘cause otherwise you'll be considered absent…not here, or dead,” the teacher, who’s name was apparently Mr. Belardo said softly and with a reassuring smile.  
Percy breathed out a chuckle and lifted his head. His eyes, which were previously tightly squeezed shut in what appeared to be pain, opened to reveal the most beautiful and terrifying irises Grover had ever seen. They glowed brightly as if Percy was about to use some sort of laser-vision and incinerate the teacher. They were a mind boggling arrangement of colors that went from amber to forest green to midnight blue. Grover got a sinking feeling as well as the urge to claw at his throat as if he was drowning when he looked at those eyes for too long. Percy’s hands had lowered to his desk though they were shaking slightly.  
“Yeah, y-yeah, I’m…I’m here,” he said slowly, as if mid-sentence he had forgotten the context of what they were talking about. Mainly, he seemed overwhelmingly tired. Mr. Belardo nodded and moved on. Percy’s voice was an enchanting and charming baritone that seemed to silence everything else, and if Grover didn’t know any better he’d think Percy was a child of Aph–  
There was a ding that sounded suspiciously like a kitchen timer. Mr. Belardo, who was setting up what looked like a projector to Grover, looked up towards the back of the classroom, about to say something, but Percy beat him to it. The loud squeaking noise of the chair when it was pushed back made everyone look up, and those who had been sleeping wake up. Percy got up sloppily, nearly tipping over his chair, and dragged his feet towards the door. He mock-saluted Mr. Belardo with a lop-sided grin and wordlessly left, the door banging shut in his wake.  
The next time Grover had seen Percy was in ELA with Ms. Boseman who was a plump loud woman who taught well enough. The boy was out cold, a small puddle of drool on the desk his head was on. In Gym, Grover was sitting on the bleachers because of his crutches and observing the scene. The gym teacher, who seemed sensible enough, could see Percy falling asleep where he stood and told him to sit on the bleachers. Grover briefly wondered how none of the teachers were concerned about Percy’s behaviour and then realized that none of them noticed nor cared, as Percy sat at the very back of the classroom in all of his classes and it was apparently common knowledge that he was a problem child.  
Grover couldn’t find Percy anywhere during lunch, but when Access/Advisory (which was what they called the group counseling session) transpired, Grover finally got the chance to know the boy a bit better.  
Mr. Torres treated the group as if it was a rehab group circle. The room looked a bit like a nursery room or a toddlers’ daycare with little knick knacks and yoga equipment as well as positive and cheesy posters that gave even Grover a headache. It was spacious and the floor was the usual dirty schoolroom carpeting.  
“We have a new student,” Mr. Torres started in an overly high-spirited voice, his gaze locked onto Grover. Grover would have immediately assumed that Mr. Torres was a monster if not for his distinctly mortal scent. The teacher placed a hand on Grover’s shoulder and Grover squirmed uncomfortably. “Will you introduce yourself to the class?’

“U-Uh, uhmm, Grover–” The door opened to reveal an extremely disheveled but happy looking Percy who strode through, slowly. His clothing style, Grover had noticed, didn’t help his avoiding the stoner aesthetic at all. Faded baggy ripped clothing was all he seemed to wear along with stained faded sneakers that were always undone. “–Underwood.”

Mr. Torres’ mood soured as soon as his gaze fell on Percy and so it didn’t linger long. “You’re late, Jackson.”

Percy simply hummed as he plopped down on a seat. “Aren’t I always?”

Percy’s gaze fell on Grover and Grover took advantage of that to give him a disapproving look. In truth, Grover couldn't care less about discipline but this was a test to see what kind of person Percy Jackson was. Strangely, that seemed to deeply affect him because his voice became steely and he looked somewhat apologetic as he added, “Sorry, I’ll…be on time from here on out.”

Some students openly gawked, but the teacher nodded and continued the class as if he’d completely expected and accepted Percy’s submission.

Latin/History was conceivably the best class Grover had ever attended. Mr. Pauly was a tall lean man with almost black hair and sharp features. He wore glasses, not because he needed them but because people thought he looked angry without them. He was well built and friendly with a sassy attitude that made even the worst kids like him. His classroom was also the only one with personality. Black walls with several famous rock band posters lined them. The ceiling was very high and there was a pedestal at the front of the classroom. Historical artifact replicas were everywhere: hanging from walls and in every nook and cranny. There were maps that hung from other parts of the walls and there was one blackboard. It looked like a mix between a coffee shop and a history classroom. Mr. Pauly’s desk was in the back which in a sense seemed fitting as he engaged more with the kids in the back than with the kids in the front.

Students streamed through the doors excitedly, Grover being the last one there. Everyone sat where they wanted though the most eccentric or entertaining students seemed to favor sitting in the back. Grover looked around in a kind of astonishment. Until then, the facility most resembled some sort of kids’ asylum, but this classroom seemed so normal. It almost made Grover feel like he was a regular teenager. Almost. He’d been so lost in thought that all the seats had already been taken except for the one next to Percy. He hesitantly sat next to the boy, who had chosen to sit in the very corner of the classroom, closest to the door.  
A voice with a slight Canadian accent spoke, ”Ah, new kid! And you’re sitting with one of my best that too,” Percy snorted at that but was smiling all the same. “ You heard of Moses? Ya know, adopted guy who had a grudge against Egyptians and was said to split the sea. They even made a movie ‘bout it. It’s gonna be released in a few days.”  
Mr. Pauly wordlessly pointed to a big box with a label that said ‘Donation Box for Movie Field Trip’.  
“That’s for history. Anyways, pop quiz time!”  
Several voices were heard groaning. Mr. Pauly propped himself up on top of his desk and dug his hand into a cardboard box filled with something that seemed to excite those same students. “So, first thing we learned this year in history was the Roman Republic and empire which gave us an idea about the origin of Latin. Umm… Ezra, can you give me a little summary of Latin’s origin?”  
The girl in question shrugged and replied with, “Roma backwards was Amor which means love in Latin. I’m pretty sure the language was established before the city was so...yeah I dunno but can I still have one?”

Mr. Pauly snorted, “Yah no can do Princess. Mmm, maybe, say Grover, you know anything ‘bout the origin of–“

“Yeah. Yeah so Latin was believed to be the language of a tribe that had lived near the Tiber River. I think it was given its official name by either Romulus or Numa Pompilius. Um Ezra was uh right. Languages like Spanish, French, and English are all romance languages which are descendants of Latin. It’s called romance after the Romans. The actual word romance came from the Romans and its definition strikes true because of how Roma backwards means love and all.”

Mr. Pauly whistled as he threw a piece of peanut butter chocolate candy at Grover. “Damn. At this rate you’ll be in Percy’s league. You probably are. M’kay, next question!”  
Mr. Pauly ruffled Percy’s hair. Percy smiled drowsily back at him.

Grover opened his new dorm room to see what might have been the messiest space in the world. It looked a bit like those cage houses that you could find in Hong Kong. Percy was leaned over digging under the bunk bed. He stopped and looked up when he saw him. Grover managed a weak wave, “Hi.”

Mild surprise flashed over Percy’s face before he nodded in acknowledgement and replied quietly, “Underwood.”  
He went back to shuffling through the pile of clothes under his bed, looking for something. Grover stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. He’d only brought a backpack with his things, not convinced that he would stay too long in this place. Percy exhaled triumphantly, falling onto his bed and holding a roll of cash. “People'll buy anything these days.”

Grover set down his pack and cautiously walked towards Percy. It was a bunk bed and Percy was currently occupying the bottom cot. Percy looked at him, an unreadable look in his eyes as he settled into a sitting position. “I don’t bite. Well, not all the time. Not when I’m on the meds anyways. Plus, they put _you_ with _me_ , so they musta thought you’d do _some_ wonders for me.”

Grover took his time to process what Percy had said, all the while edging closer to the ladder. Grover attempted to get cozy in his cot but he missed the smell of strawberries and the room felt so constricting. Compared to the wilderness, this felt like being trapped in a box. Yet it felt homey, dirty clothes strewn across the floor, empty packets of junk food and candy wrappers in every corner, and a strange metallic but sweet chemical smell that Grover often found in the dark alleys of Brooklyn. Percy had gone back to counting his money, the sounds of paper rustling and hitting each other oddly comforting. Grover decided that he was nervous. The reason he had come to that conclusion was because when he was feeling particularly unnerved, his bladder would start acting up. He hopped down from his bed and to the floor, going in the direction of a small room with a sink, a toilet, a mirror, and a door. Then he remembered his manners and his self-consciousness caught up with him. “Umm c-can I use your uh…”  
Percy, who seemed to be studying him quickly replied with, “Yeah, yeah man, ‘course. Mi casa es tu casa and all that shit.”

Grover nodded. Five minutes later found Grover still unable to fall asleep in a dark dorm room. He decided to just leave his dignity and independence behind and timidly whispered, “Percy?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it always this hard to sleep here?”

Percy silently climbed the ladder and sat next to Grover, who’d propped himself up into a sitting position, their legs dangling off the side of the bed. The glowing green of Percy’s eyes was the only source of light in the dark, before those were sniffed out like a candle. Grover had only then recognized the strange smell to be the signature odor of cocaine. A pregnant silence and then, “What do you take?”

“Eskalith.”

Oh. _Oh_. Grover didn’t know what to make of the boy Percy Jackson. An enchanting bipolar delinquent who was both a drug addict and drug dealer. Grover didn’t care too much for mortal standards or morals. He worked for the gods, not the people. Mortals were also the cause for the end of the Wild Era. Even if Percy wasn’t a good person, Grover couldn’t help but feel something when he was around Percy. With those last thoughts, Grover’s head settled on Percy’s shoulder and he fell asleep to the smell of candles; candles and soap and a hint of salt water.


	2. The Unspoken Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You look...what’s the word? Sober?” Percy chuckled at that. Then he held a finger up, as if asking for a minute. He reached into his mouth, under his tongue, and pulled out a half dissolved capsule.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More bonding time. I know it's a bit slow but action will come later on. The books were a bit too much action and very little background so that's what I'm focusing on. If you want you can skip this chapter but make sure to read my end notes that will give a quick summary in case you're lost.

They taught ballroom dancing at Yancy as an extracurricular activity. It reminded Grover of the divine waltzes he had only heard of on Olympus. It was something else apparently. Grover could only imagine. 

***

Over the course of the next few days till December eighteenth, several things happened. 

Nancy Bobofit was a girl that seemed to hate Percy and Grover. She was a kleptomaniac, which was common among many of the students that attended Yancy Academy. She had chestnut hair and chocolate freckles with teeth that were very much in need of braces. She dressed moderately well but her attitude was what made her despicable. She was likeable enough among her own group of friends but boy was she set on making Grover’s life Hell. 

Classes started half-an-hour later on Tuesdays so most people spent time in the courtyards on school grounds. Yancy Academy was a large institute, located in the suburbs of Queens, right next to Forest Park. It was _far_ from the Upper East Side in Manhattan. 

Percy always lingered in the shady part of school. The shady part of school was literally the shaded area by the fountains. There was an alley where the bathrooms were located with little to no sunlight. It was most reminiscent of the sketchy alleys in the city, which was probably why the most drug deals happened there. 

Grover was leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door, waiting for Percy to finish negotiating with Keith Davison from ELA with Boseman. They exchanged things and Percy, finished, walked back to Grover. Percy’s eyes were glowing in dark, making him look all the more menacing. He was definitely not mortal. Grover really was lost on how to proceed with his plans. Should he take Percy with him in the next two weeks or two years? Should he even stay at Yancy for two years? 

“You look...what’s the word? Sober?” Percy chuckled at that. Then he held a finger up, as if asking for a minute. He reached into his mouth, under his tongue, and pulled out a half dissolved capsule. It was yellow and white in color, resembling more of a cyanide pill than Eskalith. He then threw it into the garbage can a few feet away and spit into it, probably to get rid of the rest of the medicine. Percy stuffed his hands into his faded Tyrian purple hooded sweatshirt. His jeans as usual were scuffed and ragged. Grover wouldn’t have been surprised if Percy wore biker chains around his belt loops too, but the boy acted as if changing itself was too much of a bother. 

“H-how did y–” 

“You learn not to swallow for hours on end. Kinda like desensitizing your gag reflex.”

“Oh. Why?” Percy shrugged then nodded his head in the direction of the area where he’d been negotiating.

“Won’t let me do business. Plus, Martin’s weefy.”

Ms. Martin was the school’s nurse and prescription administrator. Every kid went to her office to take their medication and they were subjected to following only her rules without question while they were there. Grover had a feeling Percy wasn’t relying on the pills anymore because he had Grover for company. Just as a drunkard who had found love would stop relying on alcohol because he had something to live for now. 

“What does it feel like?”

“It’s like…You can’t feel anything. What’s the point of’ livin’ if you can’t feel anything?” 

  
  
  


Grover had grown unbelievably close to Percy in the last few days. There was a strange connection between them that demanded no introductions or explanations. It was almost telepathic and if Grover didn’t know any better he’d have thought they had an empathy link. 

In the following days, Grover spent a lot of time learning about Percy. The boy opened up in little snippets though even that was more than what Grover had expected. In the nights, Grover learnt about how Percy had ended up at Yancy; the several schools he had been kicked out of and why. He had a wild personality, one minute laughing with someone, and the next beating them to a pulp. He’d gotten kicked out of six schools and was a troublemaker but he hadn’t done anything specific enough to be considered a major crime and to land him in Juvie. Thus, he came to Yancy to be ‘disciplined’. Grover never asked about the drugs and Percy never told. Grover didn’t need to, he could read between the lines. That was his specialty after all. 

Grover ended up sitting with Percy in all of their classes, the unspoken friendship between them only growing stranger and stronger. If Percy needed help with some work, Grover was there and vise versa though rarely could Percy help Grover with anything. They sat together during lunch at an empty table and though it seemed somewhat childish, they were only thirteen year-olds (Grover was in human years). This close companionship had earned several disgusted looks from Nancy and some of her friends though they were quickly put in their place by Percy’s scalding glare. Percy got frustrated easily but Grover was in a sense his pacifier. Percy didn’t need drugs and medicine for life to stay in control, he just needed someone to lean on, or rely on. 

Grover was able to sleep better in the dorm rooms now that he had a familiarity with him. There was a weekly dorm inspection and Grover was curious to how Percy handled it. It took place on Fridays and so on Thursday, at around ten-o-clock in the night, Percy silently got up and peeled back the edge of the floorboards. He hid everything there and closed it back up. 

Friday was when the movie trip happened. It was also the last day before Winter Break started and they all went back to their families. In Grover’s case, he was going back to camp to ask for Chiron’s assistance. Grover knew he could do this by himself but he felt it would be much easier to just be able to fall back on Chiron. House calls were only used when the situation was overly complicated and too much work for one satyr. He could’ve but he’d made his decision. He just hoped it didn’t come to bite him in the back later on. 

It was about six in the evening and they’d driven in a bus all the way to Arion Theatre in Middle Village. Up on the billboard, written with extra exclamation was _Prince of Egypt_. 

After Moses split the river was when Percy had fallen asleep, his head on Grover’s shoulder and a bucket of spilt popcorn on his lap. Grover didn’t have the heart to wake up the boy and waited till the end credits were rolling in to give him a slight nudge. Percy flinched and jolted up but then quickly calmed down.

Outside the movie theater it was so cold that every exhale came out as a puff of steam. Percy was leaning against the brick wall next to the movie posters. His hands were in his pockets and his eyes were towards the floor. He looked dejected, as if he was sad that it was over. 

Grover opened his mouth and hesitated but the words had spilt, “So going home now, huh?”

Percy looked up, his eyes watery, though he blinked it away and nodded, clearing his throat. “Yup. Home sweet home.”

And so the next day everyone split their separate ways, Percy going back to his ~~home~~ apartment and Grover back to camp to inform Chiron about the mysterious powerful green-eyed demigod.

Grover felt like he was betraying his new friend, but he knew in the end that his role in the vast sick game they were all playing was but a pawn and the boy was something bigger. Percy Jackson was the hero of the prophecy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now that Percy has some company, he isn't so dopey anymore. Why is Percy sad to go home? Idk man read the tags. Winter Break has started but I'm not gonna write a chapter about it. Next chapter will be more of a background story about one of our characters. The reason this chapter was written so choppily is because I wanted to give little snippets without having to drag on and on and dwell on something that might not affect the story too much. Man am I ambitious, I've already started writing my Mark of Athena rewrite.


	3. A Charismatic Woman.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was doing very well in highschool before she felt a mysterious presence. The same mysterious presence that she fell in love with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentioned Rape/Non–Con.

Sally Jackson was an unique woman. She spent her day working at a candle and soap shop but she disappeared in the nights, no doubt trying to use her looks to make money. She wasn’t selfish at all, might have been the most selfless mother in the world but she often made many mistakes. One of those mistakes was marrying Gabriel Ugolino. She’d met him in a night club and got into a relationship with him shortly after. She knew he was a sketchy character but she had a three year old child at home and deemed him wealthy to live with. Her reasoning? She felt it couldn’t get much worse than being so poor that you had to give birth in the streets and live in a shelter for the homeless raising a baby without a father. She’d been raised in an orphanage as her parents had died in a plane crash until some perverted man adopted her. She had nowhere else to go so she stayed with him and dealt with everything he did to her till she was old enough to be independent. She was doing very well in highschool before she felt a mysterious presence. The same mysterious presence that she fell in love with. There is an attractiveness that romantically lures people and there is a beauty that can only be observed. Take a handsome person versus a butterfly. You might feel amorous with the handsome person but not so much with the butterfly. The butterfly you might still believe to be beautiful, but it’s a different type of beautiful. 

Sally was charismatic. She’d been able to make many friends in high school. They weren’t too much of the manipulative kind either; entertaining people who gave and took equally. It was ‘84 and everyone had foolish dreams to be something or want something unachievable. Sally wanted to be an author. She was too pretty to be taken seriously though, or at least that seemed to be what everyone else had thought. She hated all her teachers but Mr. Cassidy who was her English teacher. He was a sensible and smart man who treated Sally like she was his own daughter. She was often invited to their family dinners where she had been introduced to his son Paul Cassidy. Paul was a rebellious young teen who spent his time smoking and teasing old ladies with his friends. Sally hated him, but she didn’t dare show her contempt for Paul during the family dinners. The summer of ‘84, Paul had tried to take Sally out for a movie date to watch Ghostbusters which was hot in theatres. Sally had surprisingly enjoyed it. During the school year, Sally had also met Glen Pauly who was a sweet boy who loved history. He was funny and charming in his own nerdy way and so she found herself falling in love with him. They had started dating shortly afterwards. It was December by then, reaching her birthday and things were getting worse with her stepfather who had just found out about her relationship with Glen. He was a dominating middle aged foster father who liked to sexually abuse her on several occasions and called it love. Thus, he did not take well to the news and Sally, who never usually had to wear makeup, had to learn how to. Sally’s birthday was on Christmas Eve which was on a Monday so her friends, as a weekend getaway, drove her to the beach. The beach was something alien to Sally as she had never been outside of the city. Janice, Leslie, Vickie, Jude, Glen, their assorted boyfriends, and her went to Long Island Sound on Saturday night and the plan was to stay there till Sunday noon. The boys had taken Billy’s father’s car which was a smoky blue 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback. The girls had taken Vickie’s brand new cherry red 1979 Mercedes Benz 450SL convertible. Sally sat in the trunk, which was most likely illegal but very fun. Sally wondered if this was what euphoria was as the wind whipped her curly wild locks and pleasantly slapped her face, the forest seeming to welcome her and simultaneously look threatening, and scent of what Sally assumed to be the ocean growing stronger and stronger. 

Vickie had to yell over the wind and the radio who’s signal was turning weak, “My parents own this small shack near the shore of the Sound! Sally, I–Billy!”

Her chipper voice was strangely melodic with the distant sound of waves in the background. Billy, who was her boyfriend, was currently trying to transition from the Ford Mustang to the trunk of the cherry red convertible. That was definitely illegal. Sally’s friends were probably the most reckless teeneagers in their high school but they were nice enough so she liked them. She scooted to the very corner of the trunk, giving Billy enough space to settle. 

“ _ There’s a starma–...–ng in the sky _ _. He'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds. There's a starma–...He's told us not to...it...knows it's all worthwhile. He told me _

_ Let the children lose it...–dren use it. Let all the children boo–… _ ” There was static in and out of the songs until they all together completely stopped. 

“We’re here! Come on, Sally! I got some gifts waiting for you there and there’s a storm rolling in!” As if on cue, thunder boomed in the distance.

Judy had gotten her a Walkman, Glen had gotten her a beautiful journal, Vickie had gotten her a pack of cigarettes as a joke and then a fragranced candle, and Janice had given her a pearl bracelet. 

Later into the night, the rest of her friends were either playing spin the bottle or so high they’d fallen asleep. Sally excused herself and peacefully walked along the shore, listening to the playlist Judy had on the Walkman and smoking one of Vickie’s cigarettes.

“ _ The sailors say, ‘Brandy, you're a fine girl.’ You're a fine girl.”  _ Sally felt a presence all around her. It was almost as though the sea had swallowed her up who and she was drowning; as if she was underwater. 

“ _ ‘What a good wife you would be.’ Such a fine girl.  _ “ Sally looked around, her cigarette falling into the wet sand. The water tickled her feet, sending the hairs on the back of her neck into a frenzy.  _ ‘Yeah, your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea’ Brandy wears a braided chain.”  _ Sally swore she felt something like hot breath on her neck, though it wasn't hot breath as much as it was a gust of sea breeze. “ _ Made of finest silver from the North of Spain. A locket that bears the name of the man that Brandy loved.” _ The final straw was when she felt cool fingers on her shoulder, fingers that felt like sand and ice at the same time. She shrieked, turning backwards to find Glen there. It was Glen but it wasn’t Glen. Her eyes could see flashes of something else and her body could feel the pull of the presence there. “Hello, Sally,” His voice was so deep and beautiful that it made her delirious with pleasure. She looked into his eyes and then found herself sinking in the deep blue sea, no land around her and a sense of hopelessness pulling her down to the depths. Her knees failed her, but before she could fall to the ground, hands that were not quite solid and more like shaped and formed energy, caught her. “Shhh. You’re alright.”

Her clothes seemed to melt off of her, the cassette tape and Walkman gone, leaving her exposed in the wet thermal sand. Then she felt something consume her and enter her and she felt herself disappear, consumed by an unimaginable bliss. Around half an hour later, she woke up alone in the sand, feeling a deep hatred and regret. Her clothes were folded and piled neatly next to her, the walkman sitting on a rock. At dawn, she ran away, as far as she could, for she knew that there was something new inside of her, growing, and one name etched into her mind, the reason for the chaos this would bring her: Poseidon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's Sally's backstory for you, folks!


	4. The Unfortunate Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grover opened the door and waited as he looked out into the hallways. He had the faintest of premonitions that today would not be a good day. And it was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man is this cringy. I don't know whether I made a bad choice leaving this unedited. I found this pretty hard to write mostly because I prefer making films to writing. It's harder to put my imagination into words than it is into film sequences. How do you know whether something is too subtle or too obvious or whether your hinting at certain ideas is too vague or too clear? In film, you can show everything, everything is right in front of you, and yet so much is hidden. I don't have to take hours to look for the right word to describe what a character is doing if I have a good actor who can do it. It's an ongoing debate but I know what side I'm on. Anyways, sorry for jabbering. Warnings: hinted at perversity/perversion, molestation and medical malpractice, violence.

Percy came back from break bruised black and blue and with a new history teacher named Mr. Brunner. Percy refused to like him. He didn’t want to like him. But he did. Mr. Pauly had disappeared. He’d just left out of the blue. For no reason at all, no one seemed to care to investigate, instead promptly replacing him with a new much older history teacher. Mr. Brunner was fine. He was okay, but he didn’t have half the good humor of a starved hyena. He was kind in a professional sort of way but he just didn’t...he wasn’t the teacher who had become something of a father to Percy. No, that man had vanished. Percy wasn’t a curious person so he rarely dwelled on something that bothered him or bothered to investigate something mysterious. Instead, he opted for the more convenient method of ignoring the problem and moving on. Unhealthy but easy.

It was with these thoughts that Grover started the day, spitting toothpaste into the sink and looking at himself in the mirror.  
He hated himself: how he looked, acted, and everything in between. It was all too human for him and he’d been raised to hate mankind. It was a pity the gods chose to fornicate with humans of all creatures. It would have made Grover’s job much easier if it weren’t half-humans that he had to rescue and perhaps little half-blood cubs or pups. The demigods were tolerable enough since they didn’t particularly harm nature but all satyrs secretly prejudiced against them. Ever since Pan had gone missing, products of the Wild were solely subjected to following the gods. They were apathetically loyal.

Grover splashed his face with water, his eyes wandering through the open bathroom door at Percy, who was sniffing a shirt and talking. “‘S he even qualified? Dude’s blind and...old.”

“Perce. I’m pretty sure that’s ageist. And how d’you know he’s blind anyways?”

“Deadass bro? Ve’you seen those eyes? Mad blind.” Percy threw the shirt to the other corner of the room and looked for another one. At this point, both Percy’s and Grover’s clothes were mixed together. Some days they’d find themselves wearing each other’s clothing. They had a close relationship to say the least. Grover looked around: when he’d first joined Yancy, he’d had to observe everything about the academy, down to the very details. The academy functioned very differently from how Grover assumed it would function; dorms with their own bathrooms, no uniforms, etc. You’d think the person running this private school would be a bit more average. Percy couldn’t afford to go to a private school, if the clothing he wore was any indication. Percy had told him one day that he was a government case, the only one in the whole of Yancy Academy. He’d gotten into enough trouble to land him here but nothing he’d done was a specific enough crime to get him into Juvie. If he were caught doing something illegal, however, he’d be promptly put on trial for Juvie.

Either way, the dorm room was getting messy and they’d have to clean up for inspection.  
Grover opened the door and waited as he looked out into the hallways. He had the faintest of premonitions that today would not be a good day. And it was true. In homeroom, the attendance was being called for and Yancy news was being announced when the door opened to reveal a short old woman with glasses that seemed to slide down her nose more often than not and a hotline telephone. They were behind each and every door, outside of every classroom and were all connected to the same line due to convenience sake. She was probably the front desk secretary or something along those lines.

“Mr. Jackson, er, you have someone on the other line of a call waiting to speak with you.” Percy’s head snapped up from doodling on the desk with a random pencil and rapidly tapping his fingers on his knee, the other foot tapping restlessly on the floor. He looked confused but got up. Grover stared after him, thoughts shooting around in his head.  
When Percy came back, his eyes were blazing with anger in a way Grover didn’t think he’d ever seen before. He sat back down in his chair in a very un-Percy like way and glared into some random student’s back for the rest of the class. It only got progressively worse (better) after that; Percy was ready to snap at even the smallest things. In English, he spent the whole class frowning at the book they were supposed to be reading. In Gym., which he had started somewhat participating in since he stopped actually taking the pills, they were playing dodgeball. The game hadn’t even started yet when some kid threw a ball. It was probably aimed at another student but it hit Percy, who’s eyes shot towards where the ball came from. His eyes seemed to track the exact student and if looks could kill that student would be incinerated into ashes. Percy picked up the ball and threw it at the kid with such force that the kid fell backwards (yup, he was definitely a demigod) and the game started. It was utter chaos.  
Students were allowed to sit in the glass topped cafeteria or the benches outside during lunch. It was raining pretty heavily outside so everyone was sitting inside. Nancy Bobofit must have been in a particularly bitter mood because she and her gang were trying to annoy each and every “freak” there. Percy looked more upset than mad at this point but Grover couldn’t be sure. Either way, he had silently gotten Percy’s lunch for him while Percy scowled and fidgeted with his fingers. Grover plopped down next to Percy sliding the other’s tray towards him. As he bit into an apple he watched as Percy’s eyes slowly landed on the tray of food in front of him but didn’t move one bit, his fingers still fidgeting and his foot still tapping restlessly. His eyes glanced at Grover but didn’t linger long there as he quietly mumbled (and Grover noted the rasp of a sailor stuck at sea for months in his voice), “Ya’ didn’t have to get me food, ‘nderwood. ‘M not hungry.”

“Perce.” Percy looked at him so quickly that Grover blinked. “I-” Grover took his hand and rubbed a thumb over it comfortingly. He didn’t know why, it was a reflex reaction. All the same, Nancy pounced on that movement to start causing a scene. Cringing, she spat, “‘The fuck, are you holding hands?”

“My, what big eyes you have.” Percy hissed out, but snatched his hand away under the table.

Grover felt like there was more meaning behind Percy quoting Red Riding Hood but he didn’t dwell on the thought. Nancy rolled her eyes and went back to poking at others for a while. Or at least, that’s what it was at first glance. At times she’d whisper loud enough, “Gay? Shit, that’s disgusting.” or something like that. Percy had taken to stabbing at his grapes with his plastic fork with a smoldering glare that really scared Grover for the first time in his life. The stabbing of his fork and the tapping of his foot only got more intense the further Nancy took her comments.

It was when Nancy started calling them fuck-ups that Percy snapped, his fork stabbing the table.

“Shut up, Nancy.” He growled under his breath, loud enough for her to hear though.

Grover really didn’t know how Nancy managed to do it, what with Percy’s terrifying scowl and obvious hints of losing it. Maybe she just wasn’t taking the hint or paying attention. Maybe she was lost in her own thoughts of self-hatred and needed to project. Grover didn’t want to know because he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Instead, Grover looked at his cup of water–not so much a cup with water as the water was floating outside the cup, angrily evaporating into nothingness. No one else would notice, of course, what with the Mist and all.

Nancy sneered at him but turned back to talk to her friends. They weren’t in the talking mood anymore it seemed. In fact quite a few of them had quieted down in bated silence, watching the scene with anticipation. She turned back towards Percy, or at least in the general direction of him since nobody wanted to look him in the eyes at that point, “Faggot.”

Then, Percy launched up from his seat silencing the entire cafeteria as he shouted, “Shut the fuck up!”

“ Why, dick sucker?” and what Grover curiously picked out from Nancy’s expression was that she was satisfied. She wanted someone to yell at her, to fight with her, to upbraid her. She was trying to punish herself. She hated herself as much as she hated her victims. Thus, there was a sick thrill she got in triggering others to attack her. That nasty somewhat euphoric grin was as deep in meaning as it was clear as daylight on her face, but no one bothered to see that. It was little things like this that Grover liked to observe about humans.  
His thoughts were cut off as Nancy was roughly shoved to the ground. Then the punching came in. Nancy didn’t even struggle as Percy threw hit after hit. Grover found himself nostalgic, still sitting at the table and finishing the other fruit he’d bought for himself while utter chaos surrounded him. Kids were fighting over each other to see the scene while others were chanting for a fight and only one or two tried to pry Percy off of Nancy. If Grover listened closely enough, canceled out the background noise and picked out Percy’s voice that was loud enough for only Nancy to here, Percy was hissing the same four words in between jabs, “Shut the fuck up.”

It all happened in the span of a little more than five minutes, but somewhere in that time period, for just a second, Grover felt sickened. That feeling was immediately pushed deep deep inside, humor finding its way back into his mind. When Percy was finally pried off of Nancy, being dragged away by the firm arms of supervisors, he had a wolfish lopsided grin on his face, dissatisfaction and anger dancing in his eyes, as he panted and snarled. Animalistic and wild.

Grover’s eyes wandered back to the unconscious bloody body of Nancy Bobofit. Her cheek was torn and nose was broken, and she most likely would have two black eyes, but there was a shadow of a smile on her face, and it lingered there even after they put her on a small medical bed transporter and carted her away. Nancy Bobofit was indeed an unfortunate case.

***  
Grover didn’t see Percy at all for the rest of the day and the night. No, the next time he saw the boy was when he quietly walked into the gymnasium the next day during third period, stumbling along dopily. Coach McEwan dismissed him to sit on the bleachers.  
Grover had several ideas of what happened to Percy but there was one he clung on to more often than not. His idea was that Percy had been dragged away into the nurse’s office and was tied to a bed restraint due to his struggling and pure anger, where he was injected with sedatives. He struggled but only because of remaining adrenaline. Grover had seen how submissive Percy was around most adults.

It was the day after that Grover would start accompanying Percy to the nurse’s office during homeroom to make sure Percy would start taking his pills again. So, they’d found out that he wasn’t taking his pills but they couldn’t be sure so they’d upped the dosage. Government doctor approved and all that. What really bothered Grover was Ms. Martin.

Both of them had silently been walking through the large gloomy halls of Yancy, to the nurse’s office which was on the other end of the school from their homeroom classroom.

Grover wasn’t sure what to do once they got there. Was he supposed to just stand there and watch? Ms. Martin’s voice interrupted his thoughts. She was a bony white woman that clearly looked like a pervert. Percy strolled in but Ms. Martin had to begrudgingly let Grover follow. So she was hiding something.“ Mr. Jackson. Are you willing to cooperate now that you have the company of your friend?”

Percy only wordlessly nodded, not sparing one glance at Grover. Ms Martin hummed in approval and opened the prescriptions bottle with Percy’s name written on it. She took out five pills and Grover knew that definitely wasn’t right. For a grown adult, it would be three or four pills and that was spread out throughout the day. Percy was just thirteen and though he was tall, he was extremely underweight, so five pills was ridiculous. That would of course suggest that Percy had taken three or four initially, that too all at once.

Percy swallowed them all down in one gulp and Grover knew that Percy wasn’t faking it. Ms. Martin examined the inside of his mouth thoroughly before nodding. “You may leave, Mr. Underwood.”

Grover internally panicked. His eyes wildly went back and forth between Percy, Ms. Martin, and the door, because he understood what would happen when he was gone. “But– I– Percy…!” Percy glared at him immediately but upon closer inspection it was a tired pleading look that begged for Grover to just cooperate. The docile asshole that he was. He’d submitted to authority long before Grover thought he had and would continue to because that was how he was raised. And Grover felt resigned as he walked through the door alone, it shutting after him as he heard Ms. Martin’s aroused “good boy” because he knew it took two to three weeks for lithium to work so Percy knew exactly what Ms. Martin would do to him. It was then that Grover really felt repulsed by humanity. It was also then, as he walked away, seemingly abandoning his friend that everything that they’d established came crashing down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I sort of didn't know how to put the ending into words. My writing life basically goes like this: writer's block during the day when I can conveniently access a computer/laptop and all the creative imagination at 3 AM the next day when my device is either in a different room, different story, or different house all together. I’ve tried so hard to make Percy seem like he’s born and raised in Manhattan but I just can’t nail the accent. Apparently, “hella” is something only we Californians use. I’ve always wanted to see New York in the eighties but never got the chance. If any of you are from New York please help me out. The basic plot doesn’t diverge much from canon but it’s the details that do. 
> 
> So if you didn't get the many very subtle hints I left, I'll spill.  
> Mr. Pauly’s disappearance is pretty important in the story so keep that in mind.  
> Grover has been raised by the rest of the satyrs and his family to hate humanity, and anything associated with them. It’s also in his blood to love the wild, which means anything chaotic or unknown. Basically Percy. It feels nostalgic.  
> Percy and Grover are not quite in a romantic relationship. It’s that sort of relationship between Rue and Jules in Euphoria (if you’ve watched it you know what I mean) except boys in 2000.  
> Idk if you got the reference but Yancy is basically a glorified version of that private alcohol and drug rehabilitation program from Season 2, Episode 15 of 21 Jump Street. Really sad shit.  
> I’m not gonna talk about what the phone call that Percy had was about but I’ll tell you it was most likely from Gabe.  
> Ms. Martin has a sick pleasure in taking advantage of drugged kids, especially Percy.  
> Nancy Bobofit hates herself.  
> Chiron’s blind in this.  
> Percy takes extra offense in being called homophobic slurs because of the things Gabe has taught him and done to him.  
> Honestly, idk what else.  
> Please discuss and comment. I love that shit; it gets me going.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter. Yay. So Eskalith is lithium which is a calming medication or antidepressant mostly used for bipolar disorder. Speaking of Percy's mental problems, it doesn't make sense for Percy to have all of those. He has to have one or the other or at most some, but all of them just don't go together. So, the reason for all of those disorders is because that's what he's been diagnosed with by several different doctors. This isn't written from Percy's opinion as I've shown at the top with (Grover). There will be snippets throughout the story rom Percy's opinion but otherwise not because I wanted to show how others viewed this Percy. Please tell me what you think. Based on that, I'll update.


End file.
